The Walking Dead s09e02 Episode Script

The Bridge

1
Justin. Clean that up.
Previously on "The Walking Dead"
I don't wanna be the one
leading these people anymore.
We're all gonna pitch in and make sure
that Sanctuary has what it needs.
I need your help fixing the bridge.
If the Sanctuary needs
food, I'll give it to 'em.
But they provide
most of the labor on the bridge for us.
- [GRUNTS]
- [BABY CRYING]
I made this decision.
But this is not the
beginning of something.
I don't want to go through it again.
[FOOTSTEPS]
[SCRAPING]
[THUD]
[EXHALING HEAVILY]
It's been a while since
we had one of these talks.
Don't say it.
I know.
I'm the one who does
most of the talking.
I'll try to keep it short,
but you're up late anyway,
and it's past time I
get you up to speed.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Today was day 35.
And things are really taking shape.
[METAL CLICKING]
It wasn't that long ago we were
fighting just to stay alive.
But it's not like that anymore.
We're building.
We're growing.
We're still ready to deal with
this world on its own terms.
But we're not letting
it define us anymore.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
- Here you go.
- Thank you.
Sure.
We're getting back a
piece of who we used to be,
how things were before all this.
It's all happening.
We're not just fighting
to survive anymore.
We're making a new beginning.
[HORSES WHINNYING]
You should be proud, Henry.
The work you've done here.
Someday you'll cross this
bridge with your grandchildren
and tell them the story
of how it was built.
I'm not gonna bore my grandkids
telling them a story about a bridge.
[CHUCKLES] It's not just a bridge.
Roads are the lifeblood of civilization.
Rome rose and fell with its roads.
Without this bridge,
there'd be no trade.
Bullets from Alexandria,
grain from Hilltop, fish from Oceanside.
This boring structure connects us all.
Be proud.
And be back in an hour to pack.
We're going home.
Hey, you forgetting something?
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
- [SMOOCHES]
- Thanks.
Uh, one other thing.
Did he get taller?
I think he's taller.
He'll be off to college
before we know it.
If the Kingdom didn't need me
and Henry didn't have school,
I'd stay here to drive
in the last nail myself.
Oh?
That'd be the only reason you'd stay?
There might be one other.
Mm?
Sanctuary's not ready yet.
So I'll be heading back there after.
I thought that might be the case.
- But it still doesn't mean
- I know. I know.
Fairy tales end with heroes
living happily forever,
but in the real world, in this world,
it's about finding the small moments
and getting to have as many
of those moments as possible.
This is just goodbye for now.
I'm not giving up on the fairy tale.
Hell, no.
In regards to our makeshift levee upstream,
given the current rate of spring runoff,
I'd put its expiration date
at another six to nine days.
After that, it's slam,
blam, sayonara cofferdam.
How fast can we have
those supports ready?
Well, ditto on the six to nine,
but if we boost our
juice and shed the lead,
- I think we can beat it.
- Good.
I'll talk to the
foreman, make sure we do.
Scouts got back.
"Horatio's" gonna pass us by,
but it'll be close.
- We got a head count?
- 100 and change.
What, you think we
should push the blasting?
Nah. If we wait, we'll wind
up drawing that other herd.
"Margaret."
Right.
And that one's five times as big.
- We got the sirens in place?
- Hell, yeah.
Then we blow the rockslide.
If the herd comes, we'll redirect.
All right, I'll let 'em know.
Anything on those walk-offs?
As of head count this maÃ±ana,
we're down one more Savior.
That's six in the past month.
[SIGHS] I'll talk to Carol about it.
Roger that and Wilco.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
You're lucky it's not infected.
Next time, come see us right away.
I know. I just felt stupid.
Peeling a potato's a pretty dumb way
to end up in the infirmary.
Yeah, well, it's an even
dumber way to get gangrene.
How's the star student doing?
Ready to take on anything.
Good. She's gonna get her chance.
I'd like you to head back home.
There's a bug going around.
Okay. I'll head out
with the next escort.
Wait. He's leaving?
- Ow!
- Sorry.
Uh, it's fine.
[CHUCKLES] I-I've got this.
[CHUCKLES] Yeah, I know.
My final line item is foodstuffs
Or lack thereof.
Alexandria is stretched
wafer-slim supplyin' grub
to both the camp and the Sanctuary.
Meaning our wafer-slim pickins
are getting wafer-slimmer by the day.
Yeah.
Michonne's on it.
[HORSE GRUNTING]
Whoa, whoa!
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
- [HORSE WHINNYING]
- Easy.
[GATE CREAKS]
Good boy.
Whoa.
Hey.
You came out alone?
From Sanctuary, yeah.
You find out anything?
They're saying they sent
the ethanol out last week,
like they promised.
Well, it's still not here.
Yeah. Jesus mentioned that.
- I don't know what happened.
- They could be lying.
I don't think they are.
Maybe the guys who made the delivery
were taken down by walkers
or they went AWOL, but
we need the food.
I was hoping you might send
enough to tide them over
while we figure this out.
JESUS: We could do it.
We have the surpluses.
Yeah, but for how long?
Till we get that fuel
that tractor's not moving
which means the big
fields don't get plowed
and the yield comes in short.
What about the plow we
brought back from the museum?
I need a blacksmith to fix it,
and I don't have one right now.
How long is Earl gonna be locked up?
I don't know.
I haven't decided.
First time we've had to deal
with something like this.
It might be time, then,
to start talking about
making some rules.
Do you think he'd ever do
something like this again?
I didn't think that he'd
do it the first time.
Well, you didn't hang
him like you did Gregory.
There must be a reason for that.
So, should I let him walk
like nothing happened?
No.
I hate what he did to you, to Enid.
But if keeping him locked up
means that the crops don't get planted,
then it's not just
him that gets punished.
Uh, Hilltop will be fine.
Until that ethanol shows up,
we're holding on to our surpluses
because we're gonna need 'em.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
It's a long ride back to Alexandria.
You're welcome to stay the
night here if you'd like.
Thanks.
I will.
Come on.
I'll get you set up.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[HAMMER POUNDING]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
So, I go in after her
nap and pick her up,
and the diaper just
explodes all over me.
Sounds like good times.
Oh, the best. You'll see.
- What?
- [HAMMER POUNDS]
You'd be a great dad.
Yeah.
[CHUCKLES]
[HAMMERS POUNDING]
Thanks, kid.
[HAMMERS POUNDING]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
- Thanks.
- [LIQUID POURING]
Easy there, buddy. I'm still thirsty.
No. No. There's not enough. You can't.
- Give it a rest, kid.
- [TOOLS CLATTER]
Back off.
[LAUGHTER]
Ahh. Hey, man, it's cool.
I got my ass handed to
me by a kid one time, too.
Of course, I was 6 at the time.
Hey. Kid's just doing his job.
Get back to work.
I don't need your people
telling me what to do.
You're not my babysitter anymore.
[GRUNTS]
Ugh!
[GRUNTS]
Ahh!
I've been schemin' and dreamin'
'bout padding out our pantry
via repurposing expired
canned goods and condiments.
By boiling old ketchup and
cooling it with new cukes,
I bet we can produce
us a passable gazpacho.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
[GRUNTING]
[SHOUTING CONTINUES]
Hey! Hey! Break it up!
Break it up right now!
Hey!
I said enough!
I said enough. Enough.
[ALL MURMURING]
Go back to work.
So, that asshole just gets
a free pass? Is that it?
It's just a few more days.
I don't like it, either,
but we're in a rush
to get that work done.
He's strong.
The Saviors are over half the workforce,
and we've had too many walk off already.
Yeah. 'Cause that's who they are.
Some of them ain't
ever gonna fall in line
- just 'cause you say so.
- Daryl's right.
These people have never
had to live together.
And we can't expect them to
just forget what's happened.
It hasn't been easy. I know.
It won't be, not for a while,
but it's not about forgetting.
It's about moving ahead,
all of us, together.
We keep doing that,
they'll see we're all on the same side.
Are we, though?
Are we on the same side, Rick?
Well, you tell me.
Thing is, man, I've been tryin' to.
But you don't seem to want to hear it.
Daryl. [SIGHS]
It's complicated.
It's been different since Gregory,
maybe since before that.
You should talk to him.
And say what?
I get what you're trying to do here,
and it's the right thing.
But maybe for some of them,
they're just not ready for it.
TAMMY: You can't just
keep him from me like this.
She won't even say
how long he's in there for.
Why won't you help me?
JESUS: I can't let you go down there,
- not without Maggie's okay.
- He's my husband.
You have to let me see him.
Of course you're going to see him,
but we can't do this today.
So, if not today, when?
I deserve a damn answer.
- Tammy, please. I'm not
- No. Tell me.
Tell me when I get to
see my damn husband!
Tammy, I'm sorry.
Look, my boy is dead.
My husband is locked up.
Nobody even talks to me anymore
'cause they don't know
what the hell to say.
I don't have much,
but I've still got rights.
Are you gonna take
those away from me, too?
He tried to kill Maggie.
He tried to kill her, Tammy.
Just give her a little
bit to figure it out.
All right. All right.
But you tell her that I am not moving
until she lets me in there.
You go. Go ahead and tell her that.
I got no one else.
I got no place else to be, okay?
[CHAIR CREAKS]
[SIGHS]
Are you gonna talk to her about it?
Maggie?
She'll do what she wants to do.
But what do you think?
I think it's not my call.
But do you agree with it?
[SIGHS]
I don't know if she hanged
Gregory for everyone
or for herself or both.
But I'm not against a grieving mother
seeing her husband.
Then you should talk to her.
She trusts you. She listens to you.
And I trust her
her instincts, if not her every decision.
No one's right all the time,
not her, not me, and not you.
That's why we need to build something
that's bigger than any one of us.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[DISHES CLANKING]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Higher, lower?
Lower maybe.
Like this?
[CHUCKLES] Yes.
That's her.
You're very talented.
Take it from the half-blind art critic.
I like doin' it.
It feels intimate, like I'm one of you.
You are one of us.
Thanks to you
and Rick and Morgan.
You're the ones that reached out to me.
The others Mnh.
The others will come around.
Nobody trusted me at first, either.
I gave them good reason not to.
Same here.
Believe me.
But then Rick reached out to me, too.
He's, uh
He's good like that.
He's not the only one.
Well
that's my job Being there.
MAGGIE: Maybe we can vent that trailer
or move the school outside
till the heat wave's over.
I'll let Bertie know.
[SPEAKING GIBBERISH]
[IMITATES MUNCHING]
[SIGHS]
Thank you.
Twins drop off another
letter from Georgie?
No. I was just reading one
of the old ones she sent.
Thinking about how
much she's done for us,
how much is still left to do.
You thinking about joining her?
You know she'll never
get tired of asking.
I like her ideas, but not that much.
I'll bet she's got a killer
record collection by now.
I'm plenty busy building
a future right here.
Aren't we?
Aren't we?
What're you thinkin'?
[SIGHS]
Tammy Rose.
She's been asking to see
Earl for over a month now.
[BABY COOING]
You think that's unfair?
I think some decisions are
too big for one person to make.
But that's why we used to have laws.
You've been talking to Michonne.
She's not wrong, Maggie.
Negan. Gregory. Earl.
You won't say it,
but you think I'm wrong about them.
[BABY COOS]
I think you're a good person.
And good people can disagree.
[DOOR OPENS]
[CREAKING]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
I've been tryin' to see you.
Every day, I've been tryin' to see you.
Oh, it's okay.
I'm okay.
They're treating me fair.
It's more than I deserve.
Don't say that.
Well, it's true, though. It is.
20 years sober.
I brought shame to you
and Kenneth's memory.
I-I didn't mean to.
Earl, you made a mistake.
You You lost yourself.
But But you came back.
You're here now, and I forgive you.
You hear me? God forgives you.
Oh, Tammy.
It's not your forgiveness I need.
I just
I miss him so much.
Me, too. Me, too.
Oh, baby, I miss him.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[METAL SCRAPING]
Maybe we should be farther back.
It's fine. Trust me.
Would you trust me?
After you sliced my face
open with a knife? Not really.
Fire in the hole!
[EXPLOSION, WINGS FLUTTERING]
[WALKERS GROWLING]
[WALKERS SNARLING]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[DOOR OPENS, CREAKS]
I never figured when I asked
you to build these cells
you'd be the first person
I'd have to stick in one.
Tell me about the drinking.
What do you want to know?
I want to know how you got here.
I started drinking right
after I quit smoking.
How's that for ironic?
It wasn't something
that got out of control.
It was always bad.
I was drunk the day Kenneth was born.
Hell, I can't even remember
the first time I saw him.
I joined A.A. after that.
But
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
[SCRAPING]
When Kenny was 2,
me and Tammy were
barely making ends meet.
I guess the stress of it all got to me.
I don't know.
I was on my way to pick
him up from the sitter's,
and I saw the sign for
McDuffy's off the highway.
The sitter could smell
the whiskey on me.
She told me.
She didn't want to hand him over.
She tried to grab my keys.
I wouldn't give her a choice.
I took my son, and I put him in the truck.
The next thing I remember,
I was pulled off the
road and Tammy was there.
I called her, I guess,
and told her I was drunk.
And she came to pick
us up and take us home.
[CHUCKLES]
I thought for sure
she'd be gone after that,
but she stuck around.
She said I was sick
that we swore to stay
together no matter what
and that's what we were gonna do.
I never took a drink after that.
I wasn't even tempted.
At least, not until
Well, you know the rest.
Thank you.
[SIGHS]
Maggie, wait.
Why did you hang Gregory and not me?
I mean, I was drunk and I was weak,
but what I did to you was in me.
Gregory didn't make me do anything.
You think I made a mistake?
No.
Good.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[STATIC CRACKLES]
TARA: Mother Goose, this is
Eye in the Sky. Come in, please.
[STATIC CRACKLES]
- [STATIC CRACKLES]
- "Mother Goose"?
Yeah, no offense,
but your call signs
suck, so we can do better.
ALDEN: Rick!
Tara, you got something to report?
[BUTTON CLICKS]
Yeah. "Horatio" just hit
its mark, right on schedule.
[STATIC CRACKLES]
Okay.
Let's do this.
TARA: Copy that, Mother Goose.
Piper One, crank it up.
[STATIC CRACKLES, BUTTON CLICKS]
Copy, Eye in the Sky.
Piper One is a go.
[SIREN BLARING]
[SIREN BLARING IN DISTANCE]
Rick.
Carol asked me to check up on
the Saviors who've gone AWOL.
I just heard back from
Yeah, I wanted to talk to
you about that. Just hold on.
Tara, how's it look?
[STATIC CRACKLES]
[BUTTON CLICKS]
Yeah, we got 'em. They're turning.
Good. Keep an eye out for stragglers.
Let 'em clear the camp,
then fire up number two
before they reach the lumber site.
TARA: Copy that.
Piper Two, on my go.
- What about those Saviors?
- I just heard back from Sanctuary,
and none of the guys who
walked off made it back home.
- None of them?
- No. And some of 'em had families.
One guy had a new kid. There's
no way they just up and left them.
Piper Two, do you read?
So, what do you think is going on?
I don't know, but the Sanctuary
group's gettin' worried,
and they're the only ones
here without guns, so
Yeah, well, we disarmed
Sanctuary for a reason.
Piper Two, this is Eye in
the Sky. Come in, please.
There are more of them here
than from anywhere else,
and they're scared.
If they wind up deciding
they're safer back home,
this whole thing's a wash.
Well, I'll make sure they're protected.
Oh, so, they work for you,
and you protect them, huh?
Who's that sound like to you?
Piper Two, come in. Do you copy?
Tara, what's going on out there?
That second siren isn't going off.
If the herd isn't pulled soon,
they're gonna run right into our crew.
[SAWING]
[GRUNTING]
[MULES BRAYING]
[SAWING STOPS]
[WALKERS GROWLING]
A herd's comin'!
Bug out now!
[GROWLING CONTINUES]
Oh, Jesus. We gotta
get the hell outta here.
Look out!
[WALKER SNARLING]
[GROANING]
Get them mules out of here!
You get over here right now!
Aah!
[GROANING]
[GROWLING CONTINUES]
Go!
Get out of here!
[GROANS] Go!
Keep on him.
[WALKERS SNARLING]
[GRUNTS]
Aw, shit!
Ugh.
Come on. Get up. Get up! Get up!
- Come on. Just fine.
- [WALKER GROWLING]
- Aah!
- [ARROW THUNKS]
[WALKERS GROWLING]
We've got this. Get him back to camp.
On it.
[WALKERS SNARLING]
Ah!
I thought you left.
I heard there was trouble.
[WALKER GROWLING]
[KNIFE PLUNGES]
[GUNSHOT]
[GUN COCKS]
[GUNSHOT]
[WALKERS GRUNTING]
[GROANING]
Where's Siddiq?
He's gone. It's just me.
It's just you, then.
[GROANING]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
I have to amputate.
What?
There ain't no other way?
The only way to stop the bleeding
is to amputate and cauterize the wound.
- What?
- Here.
Wait. Wait.
[GROANING]
You got something for the pain?
It wouldn't kick in fast enough.
We have to do this now.
[GROANING INTENSIFIES]
Oh, sorry, man.
I need you to hold him down for me.
[WHIMPERING]
You can do it.
Do it!
[GROANING, SCREAMING]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
And I don't give a shit
what you were trying
Who was supposed to turn that herd?
Hey, the walkie wasn't charged.
Bullshit. It's a solar walkie.
You didn't think to check it?
It's not my fault the
radio's a piece of shit.
Ugh!
Daryl, stop!
Ugh!
- [GRUNTING]
- CAROL: Daryl!
Daryl.
I said stop.
We'll deal with him, but not like this.
There's only way to
deal with these assholes.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[SIGHS]
You've done something
amazing with this place.
And I didn't come to say otherwise.
I know what you came to do.
And I've thought about it.
We can talk about common laws.
But I'm not giving up the right
to do what I think's best for my people.
Neither will we.
But I do think what is best for everyone
will wind up being what's
best for Hilltop, too.
Maybe.
I hope so.
I asked Jesus to load up
the food like we promised
All of it.
Earl still owes us a
debt, but he'll pay it.
He'll work under supervision,
and a council will help me decide
when it's time for that to change.
- [CHUCKLES]
- The plow will be fixed,
and the fields will get planted.
[SIGHS]
I-If you don't mind me asking,
what changed?
You know, my daddy drank.
He was a good man.
And if he hadn't have
been given a second chance,
a lot of people would
have been worse off for it.
I count myself as one of them.
But Gregory
He had chance after chance,
and he wasted them all.
Maggie
I don't regret what I did, Michonne.
Some people can be redeemed.
But others can't.
And who makes that decision?
I guess that's one of the things
we'll have to figure out.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
Hey, you need to keep
your dog on his leash.
Excuse me?
You heard me.
That bitch of yours damn
near killed me over nothing.
I know you.
See, I used to be a cop.
And every Saturday night,
I'd pick up some dipshit like you
and have to listen to him run his mouth
in the back of my car,
every one of them tryin'
to blame someone else
for their own damn problems.
[CHUCKLES] I don't need to listen to this.
Wrong.
You're gonna stand there
and listen to every word.
Now, I gave you the benefit of the doubt.
That is done.
Now, you pack your shit
and get out of here first
thing in the morning.
If I see your face again,
stitches won't fix what I do to you.
Wouldn't stay if you begged me.
I'm not waiting till morning, either.
[FOOTSTEPS DEPART]
Thanks.
[PAPER RUSTLING]
[METAL CLINKING]
Well-done.
He's gonna be all right?
Yeah.
If we can keep the wound
from getting infected.
But he's still in a lot of pain.
He's holding on, though.
[WEAKLY] Damn right I am.
I'm so sorry this happened to you.
We were all supposed
to be working together.
- I thought we were.
- You couldn't have known.
[SIGHS]
I've been pushing everyone hard.
I know I have.
I put this project first.
And you paid the price.
It was worth it.
[SIGHS]
When the dead started to rise,
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
I thought I was seeing
the end of everything.
But you changed all that, Rick.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
It's not the end of the world anymore.
It's the start of a whole new one.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
I'll always be glad I was
here to be a part of that.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING, FROGS CROAKING]
GABRIEL: You hear that?
Those are frog mating calls.
[CHUCKLES]
Must be one wild frog
party going on out there.
[CHUCKLES]
That is a strange thing to know.
I grew up playing in the woods.
It sounds like home to me.
Can I ask you a personal question?
If I said no, would it stop you?
Who's that woman you had me draw?
Come on.
We don't talk about your past,
but mine's fair game?
You can ask me about my past.
Just don't ask me to
tell you my secrets.
That what she was A secret?
A forbidden lover, perhaps?
No.
It was nothing like that.
She was my organist in my church.
I cared for her very much.
But I was afraid.
And I lost her.
I thought priests were celibate.
I'm Episcopalian.
I'm not Catholic.
My vows don't prohibit me from
Well
if that's not stopping
you, then what is?
You still afraid?
If that is the case,
I'm gonna be very disappointed.
I'm supposed to be on watch.
Then watch.
[BELT BUCKLE CLINKING]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS, LAUGHTER]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
So, yeah. So, he said,
"Spit out your cap,
and I'll give you back your dollar."
Just take a quick look and
- [LAUGHS]
- No.
No, no, no, no.
[LAUGHTER]
You still carrying that old ring around?
Oh. Y-Yeah.
Oh, I'm I'm not saying yes.
I just thought I'd try it on for awhile,
- you know, while you're gone and
- Whatever you say.
Uh [CLEARS THROAT]
No, d-d-don't. Don't.
Oh, come on.
Don't. I'm not kidding.
But I
I wrote a speech.
I'm sure you did.
And you can read it to me later.
[FIRE CRACKLING]
[CHUCKLES]
[CONVERSATIONS CONTINUE]
RICK: It was a hard day.
Hardest we've had in awhile.
A man lost his arm.
Project's behind schedule.
[INHALES DEEPLY]
People were at each other's throats.
Thing is, though, bad as it was
when the day was done
they came together.
Not all of 'em, but enough.
They chose to be together.
You see what I'm getting at?
No matter what happens,
it's human nature to come together.
That's just what we do.
NEGAN: [SCOFFS]
That's a real pretty picture
you paint there, Rick.
When do I get to see it?
Never.
You're gonna die behind these bars.
You know that.
Well, then, don't I get
some kind of final request?
Why don't you bring me
Don't you ever get tired
of acting like you're still in charge?
Do you?
You think just 'cause they
had a little weenie roast
that you've got all this on lock?
When it finally goes to
shit And it will
You make sure you come back
and you tell me all about that day, too.
We're thriving without you,
building a future,
just like I said we would.
Building it for who?
For Carl?
You don't speak his name.
Your family's gone, Rick, same as mine.
That bridge It's not the future.
It's a monument to the dead.
[SIGHS]
You're not saving the world, Rick.
You're just gettin' it ready for me.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[LIQUID SWISHING]
[BOTTLE CLINKS, THUDS]
[SNIFFLES]
[TWIG SNAPS]
[METAL SCRAPES]
Christ. You damn near
got yourself killed.
What the hell are you